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Slight increase in homelessness across the country can be attributed to some major cities

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Across the country, homelessness increased for the first time in seven years, a time when the country was in the midst of the Great Recession, according to a federal report.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress on Dec. 6.

The numbers can be misleading. The increase in the U.S. was less than 1 percent, and was driven by specific changes within cities. The report says increases in the number of unsheltered people in the country's 50 largest cities accounted for nearly all the increase.

In Minnesota, homelessness is up 4.5 percent from 2016 to 2017. But it down 2.6 percent from 2010.

Homelessness is also down when looked at over time, including among families with children, veterans and people who are chronically homeless.

The latest homeless figures are based on a single night in January 2017, where local agencies across the country attempt to count the number of individuals and families living in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and in unsheltered settings on that night, according to HUD.

In Minnesota, a more comprehensive survey of the homeless population is done every three years by the Wilder Foundation, and is seen by experts as a better representation of Minnesota's homeless population.

The most recent Wilder Foundation count has Minnesota's homeless population at more than 9,300 people, counted in October 2015.

A report recently released by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows the makeup of Minnesota's homeless population.(Photo: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)

Mixed picture

The numbers for Minnesota are also mixed, showing progress in some areas.

HUD estimates nearly 7,700 people were homeless in Minnesota at some point in 2017. Of that, nearly half are people in families with children.

That differs from the picture nationwide, where 33 percent of homeless population is people in families with children — nearly 185,000 people.

In many categories highlighted by the HUD study, Minnesota regions and cities are among the lowest in the nation. That includes northwestern Minnesota, which has one of the lowest rates of unsheltered homelessness among smaller cities, counties and regions.

Rochester and southeastern Minnesota are among the lowest small cities, counties and regions for rate of unaccompanied youth homelessness. Minneapolis and Hennepin County are in the same category for major cities.

Minneapolis and Hennepin County also have one of the lowest rates among large cities of unsheltered veterans and people who are chronically homeless.

However, Minneapolis and Hennepin County are among the highest for number of homeless people with families, up 2.6 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Nationally, the number of people experiencing homelessness in families with children declined by 5 percent from 2016. That means about 10,000 fewer people and nearly 3,300 fewer family households were homeless.

With veterans, the news nationally is positive. While there was a slight increase from 2016, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness is down 45 percent since 2009. The increase is accounted for by changes in major cities.

The number of people who are chronically homeless nationally is also down 27 percent from a decade ago. Again, there was an increase from 2016 to 2017.

Affordable housing is a factor

Experts are pointing to a lack of affordable housing as a major factor, especially in large cities.

Monica Nilsson, a Twin Cities homeless advocate, said that a primary reason for the rise in homelessness is the loss of “naturally occurring affordable housing,” a category that refers to housing that’s not part of a subsidized program or social service.

One example, she noted, occurred in 2015 when hundreds of low-income tenants at Crossroads at Penn in Richfield were displaced when a developer bought the housing complex and renovated it into luxury apartments.

Rents are going up and more people are sleeping on trains and outside, said Nilsson, onetime chair of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless.

Nationwide, nearly one of every four people experiencing homelessness did so in New York City or Los Angeles. The population of those experiencing sheltered homelessness was up 4 percent from 2007 in major cities.

In all other categories and groupings, numbers were down. More than half of all chronically homeless individuals were in three states, California with 42 percent, New York and Florida with 6 percent each.

Population does not alone determine the number of homeless people living there. Some of the most populous major cities — Chicago, Houston and Phoenix — were not among those with the largest homeless populations.

In contrast, Seattle was the 18th-largest city in the country but had the third-
largest homeless population. The District of Columbia was 21st in total population but fifth-largest in homeless population.